Flames from Israeli strike on Yemen port ‘seen across Middle East’

Israeli forces fired on the Yemen port in retaliation of Houthi strikes that killed one Israeli civilian and injured eight others.

Israeli jets struck an oil depot at al-Hudaydah Port in Yemen, sparking a large fire that officials said could be seen across the Middle East.

The strike on Saturday afternoon came after Houthi rebels launched a drone attack at Israel, killing one civilian and wounding eight others.

Footage showed the port of Hudaydah in flames as well as long lines at gas stations in Yemen’s capital of Sana’a.

A Houthi spokesman confirmed that an oil storage facility and electrical installations were hit. Although he admitted there were casualties, he did not confirm how many.

Yemen tonight. pic.twitter.com/sLc9lFsSsI

— Hamdah Salhut (@hamdahsalhut) July 20, 2024

Yoav Gallant, the Israeli defence minister, said the fire “is seen across the Middle East and the significance is clear.

“We will do this in any place where it may be required. The blood of Israeli citizens has a price,” he said.

“This has been made clear in Lebanon, in Gaza, in Yemen and in other places – if they dare to attack us, the result will be identical.”

At least 13 people were killed in three Israeli air strikes that hit refugee camps in central Gaza overnight, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Earlier, a medical team delivered a live baby from a Palestinian woman killed in an air strike that hit her home in Nuseirat on Thursday.

It comes as international mediators try to push Israel and Hamas towards a phased ceasefire and hostage release deal at talks in Cairo.

The Houthis, who have controlled Hodeida since the Yemeni civil war began in 2015, threatened to respond to the Israeli air strikes.

Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi’s politburo, said: “The Zionist entity will pay the price for targeting civilian facilities, and we will meet escalation with escalation.”

Gallant said that the Houthis had attacked Israel “over 200 times” since October, launching drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles.

Attack is ‘Israeli strike only’

An Israeli defence official told The Telegraph that it was an “Israeli strike only”, dismissing earlier reports about the UK and US joining the attack. Israel did, however, inform the US about the strike in Yemen ahead of time, the official added.

“The reason Israel could strike within 24 hours was that we have been preparing for this for months,” the official said.

An IDF official said the port serves as a “main supply route for weapons from Iran to Yemen”, and that air strikes targeted “dual-use infrastructure used for terror activity of the Houthis that have carried out hundreds of terror attacks”.

The Houthis began attacking shipping in the Red Sea in October, in what they said was a response to Israel’s attack on Gaza following the October 7 terror attacks.

They have vowed to continue their campaign until the war in Gaza is over.

Israel previously said it had shot down a suspected Houthi drone approaching the port of Eilat.

British and US jets have conducted several strikes against Houthi targets in response to the attacks on shipping. This is the first time Israel has struck directly.